Pop Culture: In this issue -?magazine becomes network

Monday

Sep 27, 2010 at 12:01 AMSep 27, 2010 at 10:32 PM

Do you ever feel guilty when you like a movie that’s adapted from a book, but you’ve never read the book? I got a similar feeling the other day when I was watching National?Geographic channel. I don’t think I’ve ever read an entire article from the magazine, but I watch the channel frequently.

Dennis Volkert

Do you ever feel guilty when you like a movie that’s adapted from a book, but you’ve never read the book?

I got a similar feeling the other day when I was watching National?Geographic channel. I don’t think I’ve ever read an entire article from the magazine, but I watch the channel frequently.

This realization sparked a few thoughts.

1. NatGeo is aimed specifically at people like me, who find it daunting to read a 7,000-word magazine article about wildlife in Terradachstan and would rather watch a TV series about a dog whisperer who solves problems of pet owners I’ll never even meet.

2. I can’t think of any other magazines that became TV networks. There have been programs (such as “Mad TV”), but not an entire channel.

3.?I could be wrong about that, but to my knowledge, I’m correct.

4. I was wrong:?I was wrong about that. TV?Guide has its own channel. Somehow, that doesn’t seem like the same thing. I mean, it’s just a listing of upcoming shows and a bunch of filler. Which is, come to think of it, exactly like the magazine.

5. The opposite crossover — TV-becomes-print — happens more often. ESPN the network spun off ESPN the Magazine, and Food Network publishes a magazine. That probably proves it’s easier to start a magazine linked to an established network, rather than the other way around.

6. I could be wrong about that, because I’m neither a television producer nor a publishing mogul. But to my knowledge, I’m correct.

7. I thought about which magazines would make a good transition to television. Then, I imagined what the programming would entail. The first one that came to mind was Reader’s Digest Channel. It would rerun condensed versions of other TV programs. I was so amused by that idea, I didn’t bother to think of any other examples.

8. “60 Minutes” was the original “weekly newsmagazine” on TV. This is interesting for two reasons. The show has been around for four decades but still does not have its own network. Then again, a 24-hour channel called “60 Minutes” might cause some confusion, or a time warp.

9. Did I mention how amused I was about the Reader’s Digest Channel?

10. I like National Geographic channel a lot, but I think its concept has other possibilities. Like, why don’t they create National Geographic Channel Magazine?

11. If that happens, I can’t wait for the movie adaptation.?It’ll be better than the book, I bet.

Contact Dennis Volkert at volkert@sturgisjournal.com.

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